Bollywood Journal: Bravo to Ambitious Women

The release last week of “The Dirty Picture,” not officially a biopic about southern film star Silk Smitha but clearly inspired by her, reminds us of a trait most unbecoming of a film heroine: ambition. As summarized beautifully by columnist Saisha, the real-life story of Silk Smitha stands—struts, shimmies, smolders—in contrast to the typical fictional arcs given to female leads in popular Indiancinema.

It’s rare to get a female character whose decisions and deeds are self-determined and not in response to an external force or event, as is the case for the avengers in films like “Phool Bane Angaarey” or even the noble truth-finders of “No One Killed Jessica.”

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“But what if the heroine isn’t a victim of rape? Or betrayal?” Saisha asks in her column. “What happens when, instead of fighting for survival, she shifts the game to fighting for success?”

What happens is the potential for an anti-heroine, a woman whose path is outside the much-traveled routes of romantic object or sacrifice for family or honor. Such characters can feel a little more real, showing human complexities like desire and pride.

Hollywood doesn’t often show women’s ambition either, especially of a type unrelated to supporting her family or protecting someone weaker or imperiled. An interesting recent exception is “Julie and Julia,” which told the story of the creativity and vocation of not just one but two women. They want to delve into a body of knowledge and experiences, and they do so. Both of them accomplish so much through hard work and taking charge of their own time and energy.

“The Dirty Picture” hasn’t screened in my city, Champaign, so I will have to make do with some other ambitious, independent women from Hindi cinema. Career women in recent films reflect the contemporary struggle to balance work, partners, family and their own well-being, however they define it. Bravo to characters like Preity Zinta’s magazine editor in “Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna” (2006), who finds satisfaction in her work as her marriage to an unhappy, unfaithful injured athlete crumbles, and to Anushka Sharma’s organized, driven wedding planner in last year’s “Band Baaja Baaraat,” who struggles to save her business from competition by her former partner. And while not exactly a conventional line of work, Manisha Koirala’s revolutionary terrorist in “Dil Se” (1998) also refuses to let romantic love derail her devotion to a political cause.

“Chak De! India” (2007) is the only Hindi film I’ve seen that shows a whole team of women who strive for high-profile opportunities to contribute their talents. Not only does the film focus on them learning how to make the most of their particular skills, it also repeatedly depicts them in competition in a foreign country, fierce warriors on the hockey field, armed with their own strength and pride. While it’s true that the very diverse team of young women of “Chak De!” is proud to earn a win for India, they all have grown as individuals. Some of that progress is due to the male coach – Shah Rukh Khan, the only big name in the film –, but it all blooms from innate talents in each player.

My favorite example of a woman with a tenacious grasp on her dreams, and one that brought “Julie and Julia” to mind as I watched it, is “Naach” (2004). The story traces the rise of two aspiring film professionals, choreographer Reva (played by Antara Mali) and actor Abhinav (Abhishek Bachchan). Even the name of the film suggests that the story is much more about Reva’s struggle, and hers is the longer, meatier, more demanding one. Abhinav wants to be a hero, and what the film shows of his career is very conventional. Reva, on the other hand, is depicted as out of step with what Bollywood wants. I love this film for creating a character whose outward expression (in this case, her dancing style) is an uncompromising reflection of her true inner self—unusual, dynamic, determined and strong. Best of all, when Abhinav, already successful, offers to help Reva, she refuses. She holds out for success on her own terms, and she demands that everyone respects her values and vision.

Ms. Mali also appears in an earlier film about a struggling artist, “Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon!” (2003). This small-town heroine is more naïve and more easily dismayed than Reva. While she accepts help and jumps at even tiny opportunities, she also packs it all in after her first large-scale criticism.

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A screen grab from the movie “Abhinetri” (1970.)

In “Abhinetri” (1970), acclaimed classical dancer Anjana (Hema Malini) must chose between her jealous, petulant husband (Shashi Kapoor) and the attention and satisfaction she derives from her work. Midway through the film, he demands that she be content with an audience of one. She says she cannot, and walks out. Of course, that’s not how the film ends, but if you switch it off there, it makes for a very satisfying feminist statement that refuses to cede control of talent and desire to a man.

A complexity of characters—whether female or not—can help free writers from the hero-centric constraints they so often face. Imagine the possibilities when the women in a story aren’t limited to responding and can determine their own lives.

And speaking of biopics of forceful females in the film industry, I wonder if we’ll ever get one about Rekha?

Beth Watkins has been blogging for more than five years at Beth Loves Bollywood. She is an expert on Bollywood history and lore as well as contemporary movies and actors (that’s her on the left, with the Shah Rukh Khan action figure). You can follow Ms. Watkins on Twitter @bethlovesbolly.

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